For What It’s Worth, Fred Thompson is My Man.

In my last post, I said there were a couple things in Thompson’s interview with the news staff of the Waverly (Iowa) Democrat newspaper worth more thought. Here’s one of them.

KD: Tell me, why do you want to be president of the most beautiful, most powerful, most unique country in the world?

FT: To keep it that way. That’s every generation’s obligation, to keep it that way. And I think we’re at a crossroads right now. I think we have got to come to terms with our position in the world, for the 21st century. We know what our role has been since World War II, but it’s a different, more dangerous, more challenging, complex war than we’ve lived in before. We are facing an economic train wreck. We are on a spending path that cannot be sustained in terms of our mandatory spending programs, as well as our discretionary spending comes with no restraint. And we’ll be fine for a while, but projections will show that we’re on an unsustainable path. Those are the things that are primarily on my mind. The unity of the American people is going to be required in order to deal with those challenges. That has to do with the kind of place our generation leaves to the next.

You know what word I didn’t see in that answer anywhere?

Government.

That’s a big deal. Please read on after the jump.

It’s no surprise that I’ve been leaning toward Fred Thompson for President since before he announced his campaign. I have admired the way he carries himself. He is a throwback: the kind of man who use to be thick on the ground in America not very long ago. He is plain-spoken, not given to talking just to hear himself talk, confident and strong yet humble and self-effacing. He is serious, but his sense of humor is never far from the surface. He strikes me as kind and gracious, a gentleman in a world where gentlemen are indeed rare. He reminds me of many men I consider my role-models, men who were raised to be strong and fair and good-hearted.

I’ve also admired Thompson’s political philosophy. The answer I quoted is typical of Thompson’s thinking. He didn’t need to take time to formulate an answer. His reply wasn’t focus-grouped and poll-tested. It was off the cuff and right on target. It said, very plainly, that America is a unique and lovely place to live but that each of us, as individuals working together as Americans, have to work to make sure it stays that way. It said that we have an obligation to leave a good and strong country to those who come after us. It resonated of tradition and legacy and stewardship and responsibility.

Thompson did not talk about government programs. He didn’t lay the responsibility for fixing the considerable problems that face us to others. He didn’t put the blame on anyone, though he very easily could have. He very simply and without equivocation laid out the problems we face and said that we must fix them together because it is our duty to do so.

That is like a drink from a cold spring on a hot afternoon in August to a political junkie like me. I’ve been watching the Presidential candidates tack back and forth for the past year like they were trying to win the America’s Cup rather than an election. I’m sick and tired of it. I’m tired of Mike Huckabee’s using his faith like a tower shield to deflect every criticism while giving us the kind of substance you find on a supermodel’s dinner plate. I’m tired of Mitt Romney’s to and fro on seemingly everything, to the point where you just know he’d be the guy who took 30 minutes to order dinner at a restaurant because he just couldn’t make up his mind. I’m tired of John McCain’s love/hate/love relationship with the MSM and the way he wants to fight the terrorists but not quite enough to give our soldiers some real legal backup from Congress. I”m tired of Ron Paul in every way it is possible to be tired of another human being. I’m tired of all the rampant silliness going on over on the Democrats’ side with the dirty tricks and sleazy stories and no real ideas to help this country be the shining city on the hill we have been for decades upon decades.

So when I see Fred Thompson I smile. He’s the anti-candidate this election season, the guy who doesn’t give a care a lick about how the chatterati thinks he should run a campaign (me included!) or how he should run his own affairs. He is, in every way I can see, his own man who is going to carry the conservative banner not because it’s a way to win an election but because those beliefs mean something to him. You may think of him any way you like, but you can not say he is not entirely Fred Thompson down to the marrow of his bones. You certainly can not say that he is not fully prepared to sit in the Oval Office and lead America.

On all the issues that matter to me Thompson has it right: fighting the Islamists, making government smaller and responsive to me as an individual voter, making my taxes smaller yet pack the punch I want, making sure the courts follow the law instead of making up their own, and not pandering to every special interest group with a few votes and a big checkbook. I believe that he can win a general election against anyone the Democrats put up against him.

I realize his campaign does not need my endorsement. Actually, since I’m a registered Libertarian, I can’t vote in my state’s primary. So, my endorsement is of little value, but I’m giving it nonetheless. This past week has shown me that Fred Thompson is the only person in this entire crop of candidates suitable to lead our country through the very real and very treacherous problems we face. I’m endorsing Fred Thompson to be the Republican candidate for President and I’m encouraging everyone who can vote for him to do so. You will not regret the decision.

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Category: The 2008 Horse Race